The cost of misremembering: Inferring the loss function in visual working memory

Journal of Vision
Chris R Sims

Abstract

Visual working memory (VWM) is a highly limited storage system. A basic consequence of this fact is that visual memories cannot perfectly encode or represent the veridical structure of the world. However, in natural tasks, some memory errors might be more costly than others. This raises the intriguing possibility that the nature of memory error reflects the costs of committing different kinds of errors. Many existing theories assume that visual memories are noise-corrupted versions of afferent perceptual signals. However, this additive noise assumption oversimplifies the problem. Implicit in the behavioral phenomena of visual working memory is the concept of a loss function: a mathematical entity that describes the relative cost to the organism of making different types of memory errors. An optimally efficient memory system is one that minimizes the expected loss according to a particular loss function, while subject to a constraint on memory capacity. This paper describes a novel theoretical framework for characterizing visual working memory in terms of its implicit loss function. Using inverse decision theory, the empirical loss function is estimated from the results of a standard delayed recall visual memory experiment. Thes...Continue Reading

Citations

Apr 24, 2016·Cognition·Chris R Sims
Oct 16, 2018·PLoS Computational Biology·Ivan Tomić, Paul M Bays
May 12, 2017·Journal of the Royal Society, Interface·Sarah E Marzen, Simon DeDeo
Nov 6, 2018·Scientific Reports·Aspen H YooWei Ji Ma
Jan 14, 2017·Physical Review. E·Sarah Marzen, Simon DeDeo
Jan 29, 2016·Experimental Brain Research·Rachel A Lerch, Chris R Sims
Dec 29, 2020·Cognition·Dennis Norris, Kristjan Kalm
Jun 17, 2021·Attention, Perception & Psychophysics·Laura LazartiguesFabien Mathy

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